You awake to a cloudless sunrise over in Port Townsend, Washington. The town sits in the Olympic Rain Shadow and gets a fraction of the precipitation of other towns in the region, so this is not surprising. You look out the window at the bay and see fishing boats, gulls and what might be a blue heron or an eagle.
You prepare some locally roasted Sunrise Coffee. You had picked up a bag of Heavy Haul Out dark medium roast from their location near the Blue Moose Cafe (which incidentally has the best breakfast in town). Often when you go there you take a tour through the adjacent boatyard, filled with amazing boats of all shapes and sizes "on the hard". Locally owned Key City Fish, with the best seafood in town, is also right there.
It's a Saturday, so you begin your day with a trip to the farmers market in uptown. The stalls are filled with produce, flowers and other concoctions produced at nearby local farms. The people are lovely—a mix of locals and tourists—and the live music gives the scene a festive feel. You buy a breadstick and a loaf of seedy sourdough bread from the Pane d'Amore booth—they are a fantastic bakery that rivals the best of those in much bigger communities.
After the market, you want to take a walk on the beach.. but which one? Fort Worden is your usual go-to with its long stretches of beautiful arcing sandy beaches, picturesque lighthouse and cavernous army installments. North Beach is more rugged and gives views of Vancouver Island and the San Juans and is also the best place to view the occasional pods of orcas. Boat Haven is a little closer and affords views of the marina.
But no, you decide instead to head out to Chetzemoka Park, a wonderful sprawling grassy park situated near the water between downtown and Fort Worden. You walk past the kids play area, the gazebo, the bridge over a garden planted long ago and the folks who always seem to be here doing Tai Chi.
You decide to keep walking toward downtown, past the skate park and stadium, and toward the lovely totem pole in front of the Northwest Maritime Center. Here you see rowers, kayakers and stand up paddle boarders pushing off their vessels into the blissfully calm waters.
At other times of the year, this area gets very busy with festivals. The Wooden Boat Festival happens here, the biggest event in town, which draws about 30,000 people over a single weekend. The goofy folks who drive their self-made vehicles for the Kinetic Sculpture Race take off from here. The Race to Alaska kicks off from here, too, in the wee hours of a July morning.
You continue walking into the heart of downtown, passing the play equipment at Pope Marine Park and the plaza where the popular Concerts on the Dock series happens. You pass the history museum, boutiques, art galleries and the place that made you fall in love with Cornish pasties and vegan lasagne, Tommyknockers.
You hear a trumpeter on the corner who doesn't seem to be busking, just playing for the fun of it. This is not unusual in Port Townsend, a town filled with eccentric musicians, writers and painters. You are reminded of a some of the great music festivals that happen here: the jazz festival, the blues festival, Fiddle Tunes (all of which happen at Centrum at Fort Worden) as well as the Olympic Music Festival and Soundcheck, an arts festival that focuses on local musicians and artists.
Walking up Tyler street, you pass an entrance the historic underground where sailors were "Shanghai'ed" across the Pacific Ocean. On your left you see the Rose Theatre, the town's unofficial cultural center and the primary venue of another internationally acclaimed event, the Port Townsend Film Festival. Upstairs from here is the lovely coworking space, the Colab, and next door to that you can get the best fish and chips in town at the Silverwater Cafe. You continue across the street to Haller Fountain with the European-inspired Galatea fountain, and up the long staircase back to uptown.
The drive home is normally short—just a few minutes—but today you are held up by a family of deer slowly meandering across the road. When you first moved here a deer crossing would move you to take a picture to post to your socials, but having been here a while, this has become commonplace. (You do, however, still take pictures of the coyotes that occasionally wander through the yard.)
You do some gardening. After your blueberries and dahlias seem happy, it feels like time to go back downtown for dinner and a locally-crafted beverage.
Social Fabric Brewing would be a good call with its chill outdoor patio. Port Townsend Brewing is equally good and might have music. Or maybe Propolis with its award-winning, unique herbal ales. You decide you want wine instead and end up sampling a delicious White Pinot Noir at Castle & Crown.
As your tummy starts to growl for dinner you think of Japanese noodles from Hanazono, sushi from Ichikawa, Thai curry from Khu Larb and pizza from Waterfront Pizza. In the end you decide to walk over to the Anchor (which your friends describe as a "vampire bar") for the best burger in town (if you're into the smash variety). You're not quite feeling sated after that and head to the In Between with its speakeasy-inspired decor to sip cocktails.
Port Townsend is a sleepy town when it comes to nightlife, but a handful of amazing DJ and music-led events help break that up. As Above So Below is a collection of local DJs who put on phenomenal dance events throughout the year, including a big event in September and another for Halloween. The Uptown Pub and Sirens host bands throughout the week and weekends. The Quilcene Lantern and Finnriver Cidery throw some great shows and festivals, though those are a little further away. Kids can get in on the fun when DJ Lunchlady lights up the local rec center gym every month for a roller skating party.
You decide to call it a night and head home. The streets are mostly empty and quiet enough that you can hear the waves lapping nearby. You sense movement and turn in time to spot some otters dashing under a pier.
The town, as usual, is unforgettable. You are so glad to live in this place where "we're all here because we're not all there", where art and history and culture and natural spendlor combine in a whirlpool of wonderment.
Life in Port Townsend is pretty great.